u 



ii 




Class 



■X) 



\^JLAlli 






CDEXRIGHT DEPOSm 



TW 



i 








<5»"* 



f 



% 




^■^'■1 



A 



Fancies of Childhood 



Fancies of Childhood 



By 
Edgarda L. Findley 




New York 
1916 






Copyright, 1917 

By J. E. FiNDLEY 



/ 



m !o 


1917 




©ci,-. 


-Ti'l 


2 2 




^^ 


/ 



FOnEWOliD 

rO those who read these poems of mj; 
little daughter, which were all written 
between three and ten years of age, it may 
be interesting to k^ow that not a suggestion of 
any J^ind was given to her, nor any assistance. 
Although the metre is not entirely perfect, the 
verses have purposely been left just as they 
were written, and so form an interesting record 
of the development of her poetic imagination. 

Mary C. Findley. 



Contents 






PAGE 


Books 


I 


A Fairy Lullaby .... 


2 


Cinderella ..... 


3 


The Fairies ..... 


4 


On the Hudson River at Midnight . 


5 


Woodland Echoes .... 


6 


" Good Evening, Merry Moonbeams " 


7 


What a Princess Is . 


8 


My Doll ...... 


9 


The Fairy 


10 


Ten Little Pumpkins 


II 


At the Hippodrome .... 


14 


Baby 


i6 


The Lady and the Stone . 


I? 


Goldenrod . . . . . 


i8 


Disappointment .... 


19 


Sunshine ..... 


20 


And There the Little Fairy Lay 


21 


The Moon ..... 


22 


The Cowslip Fairy . . . . 


23 


The Broadway Stores 


24 


Sunshine ..... 


26 



Fancies of Childhood 



BOOKS 

y 'M very, very fond of books. 

And not so much about their looks, 
But what's inside 'em's what I care, 
Be it princesses with golden hair, 
Or giants fierce with awful looks. 

For silly books I have no need, 
But ones like Ivanhoe, and Queed, 
Are very, very good ; you bet ! 
But some are even better yet. 



A FAIRY LULLABY 

Q LEEP, sleep till the break of day, 
Sleep, sleep while the tulips sway. 
Sleep, little fairy, sleep away. 
Then awake tomorrow all fresh for play. 

Roses and lilies scent your way, 
And with fairy playthings may you play, 
So sleep, sleep, while the tulips sway, 
For mother is watching you, little fay. 



CINDERELLA 

/CINDERELLA was crying 

In the ashes there, 
When her godmother came and changed her 
Into a lady fair. 

She was indeed a princess 

In shimmering silk and lace, 
With plenty of paint and powder 

On her lovely face. 

When she went to the ball that evening 

In a coach of diamonds rare, 
The people very loudly cried, 

"A princess was never so fair! " 

When the clock struck twelve she ran away 
From the ball which was so gay, 

And she dropped a small glass slipper 
As she ran along her way. 



THE FAIRIES 

T OVELY Rosamunda 

Playing in the grass, 
You're so very quiet, 

Did you see the fairies pass ? 

" Oh, yes," the maiden answered, 

" I saw them every one ; 
The queen had lovely tresses 

As golden as the sun. 

" She'd soft white wings upon her back, 
And clothed in robes of green, 

And rode upon a wee white horse, 
The prettiest ever seen. 

" They looked so very pretty 
That I laughed aloud, you see, 

And when I looked about the field 
There was nobody left — but me." 



ON THE HUDSON RIVER AT 
MIDNIGHT 

^TT^HE lighted ships go up and down, 

Filled with people from the town; 
The happy echoes ring their decks, 
The people never think of wrecks. 

The moon shines bright on the Hudson's way. 
Making her passage as light as day; 
The pleasure boats come into port. 
And other ships of every sort. 

At last, the sun's bright gilded head 
Calls the people up from bed; 
And ready both for work and play, 
They then begin another day. 



WOODLAND ECHOES 

T^CHOES from the hillside, 

Echoes from the dale, 
Nymphs and dryads calling 
From the woods and vale. 

Little birds are singing 
In the treetops green, 

Let all living creatures 

Hail to Spring — our queen ! 



I 



il 



"GOOD EVENING, MERRY 
MOONBEAMS " 

/^^ OOD evening, Merry Moonbeams, why 

do you close the flowers 
That have been open all the day, all through 

the sunny hours ? 
And why do you give chase to every pretty 

butterfly, 
And send them to the roses, in their closing 

petals to fly? 
Good evening. Merry Moonbeams, your 

company I enjoy, 
But I'm afraid I shall be soon, my mother's 

sleepy boy." 



WHAT A PRINCESS IS 

A PRINCESS is a lady 

With golden hair so long, 
And folks to see her beauty- 
Come every day in a throng. 

I know a lovely maiden — 

She's not a princess though — 

With cheeks as red as roses, 
And skin as white as snow. 

Her name is Esmerelda, 

And her sweet little face so fair, 
Smiles happily upon you 

From beneath a veil of hair. 

I chose to wed this maiden 

Instead of a royal girl. 
And she's to come and live with me 

And be my little pearl. 

8 



•I 



'^-J 



MY DOLL 

TVyrY doll is soft and pink, 

Her hair is golden and long, 
She's a flower as fair 
As any that blooms — 
On a pillow sitting there. 

Her dress is as pink as a rose, 
A pink feather fan has she ; 

But these are her party things ; 
Her name begins with a " D." 

It is just '' Dorothy " 
I will have you to know 

And don't you think it's prettier 
Than Ellen, Ruth, or Flo? 



THE FAIRY 

A LOVELY fay went dancing 
About the woodlands green, 
And soon she came to a flower, 
The sweetest she had seen. 



She took it home and kept it. 
And it turned into a prince. 

And then the two were married, 
And have hved quite happy since. 



10 



TEN LITTLE PUMPKINS 

^T^EN little pumpkins 

Growing on a vine; 
One was cooked and eaten, 
Then there were nine. 



Nine little pumpkins 
By the old green gate, 

One was made into a pie — 
Then there were eight. 

Eight little pumpkins 
Counting to eleven, 

When one up and ran away, 
Then there were seven. 



II 



Seven little pumpkins 
Playing funny tricks : 

One got mad and went away, 
Then there were six. 



Six little pumpkins 

All good and alive; 
One jumped a bit too far, 

Then there were five. 

Five little pumpkins 

On the grass — not floor — 
One said he didn't like it there, 

Then there were four. 



Four little pumpkins 

Climbing up a tree, 
One fell down to the ground. 

Then there were three. 



12 



Three little pumpkins 
Looking down at you, 

A pussy gobbled one of them, 
Then there were two. 



Two little pumpkins, 

Having lots of fun, 
One was cross and stayed inside, 

Then there was one. 

One little pumpkin — 
Yes, there was just one — 

He went where the rest went — 
Then there were none. 



13 



AT THE HIPPODROME 

/^N frozen lakes 

With shining skates, 
Are Charlotte's dainty feet; 
In fur trimmed gown 
Full well renown, 
She skims when winds are bleak. 



She's now revolving 

On her toes ; 

Each ruddy cheek 

Is like a rose ; 

The people all 

In wonder watch, 

And Sousa plays his gayest march. 



14 



Il 



The name of the play 

Is ^'Hip-hip-Hooray!" 

And Charlotte is the star. 

She is the best. 

Of all the rest, 

She is, indeed, by far. 



IS 



!| 



BABY 

TT OW dear is little baby! 
How dear! 
How queer! 
Her face is plump and rosy, 
Like a little posy — 
How dear! 
How queer! 

Her hands are soft and fat, 
She's like a pussy-cat, 

How dear! 

How queer! 
You'd like to take her home, 
And keep her for your own ! 

How dear! 

How queer! 

i6 



THE LADY AND THE STONE 

A LADY was walking 
One fine summer day, 
When she tripped on a stone 
Which was quite in her way. 

It quite spoiled her slipper — 
Of satin 'twas made — 

And she stamped her small foot, 
And angrily said, — 

" You horrid old stone 

To lie right in my way, 
And quite spoil my walking 

This fine summer day ! '* 

The stone it was sorry, 

The lady walked on. 
To get her a pair 

Of shoes to put on. 

17 



II 



GOLDENROD 

QUEEN of all the flowers, 
In the sunny hours, 
Of lilies and roses 
And all the sweet posies 
Is Goldenrod! 

Dressed in robes of green, 
Is our golden queen; 
She is not a weed, 
No, O no, indeed! 
Is Goldenrod ! 

A flower of the fair, 
Growing sweetly there; 
I like you the best. 
More than all the rest, 
Goldenrod ! 



i8 



DISAPPOINTMENT 

'TT^HE little boy sat up in bed, 
And rubbed his icy nose. 
*' It tells me something good," he said, 
" I'll follow where it goes." 

It led him straight to mother's room, 
The kitchen ; there there stood 

A great black pot with something in, 
That smelled most awful good ! 

A great big ladle stood near by ; 

The little boy took a taste, 
And then, again, with much screaming, 

He ran back in great haste ! 

Next morn, the little boy was ill ; 

He could only sit and mope. 
But mother often wondered what 

Had happened her soft soap. 

19 



SUNSHINE 

T^EAR mother sunshine, dear old girl, 

Emerald, ruby, and snow-white pearl, 
Cannot give beauty at all like thee, 
In thy great kindness to flower and tree. 



20 



A ND there the little fairy lay 
On the breast of noon. 

(This was written when she was three years old.) 



21 



THE MOON 

TF the day is very clear, 

And you look up in the sky, 
You will see the moon is there 
Far above the world, so high. 

Mistress Moon, why do you come 
When your brother. Sun, is high ? 

Is it 'cause God put you there 
High up in the blue-white sky ? 



22 



THE COWSLIP FAIRY 

TN a cowslip's bell I lie, 

Looking at the bright blue sky, 
Merry you, and Merry I, 
A cowslip fairy! 

Here I pass my time away, 
Here I lie 'most all the day; 
Don't you wish you were a fay, 
A cowslip fairy? 

To see my sweetheart I will try. 
With her gold hair and sky-blue eye, 
For she is too, you can't deny, 
A cowslip fairy! 



23 



THE BROADWAY STORES 

T^ ROADWAY stores are lots of fun, 

All the autos by there run; 
But the things that are inside! 
Why, they are a lady's pride! 
Diamonds, pearls, and rubies too, 
Emeralds green and sapphires blue; 
All these lovely, lovely things, 
Starry jewels set in rings ; 
Silks and satins, blue and pink, 
Things so lovely you can't think. 
And the models — Paris Maids — 
Show the velvets and brocades. 
Then the hats with feathers high, 
And stickups that most touch the sky. 
And the furs, — brown, black, and white, 
For a girl on some cold night. 



24 



And the dishes, — patterns rare, 
Pitchers tall, and vases fair; 
All these things and many more, 
You can find at a Broadway store. 



25 



SUNSHINE 

A^ OLDEN sunshine, the friend of Spring, 
Gladness and beauty and joy I bring, 
The water and air, they come at my will. 
Be I in valley, on mountain or hill. 
O! I am the beautiful sunshine free, 
And gladness I bring to the flower and tree! 



26 



■II 



i 



t 




i 



-$^p*^^ 



^ 



'i 



Ik 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



015 898 176 2 




